Issues and Images - Iceland Review

Coming Home
An
exhibition showcased two
series of fashion drawings by
Laufey Jónsdóttir.
For her striking creations, often inspired by Iceland’s dramatic landscape and
cultural heritage, fashion designer Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has earned international
fame and won prestigious awards. Now, in a place close to her heart, she has
begun a new and exciting chapter in her career.
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is standing in the middle of a wide
open space with an original worn stone floor, and ceiling
windows that allow the sunlight to form ever-changing patterns
on the freshly painted white walls. Here, in central Reykjavík’s
trendy fish-packing district, she recently opened her new headquarters
and flagship store.
“This used to be a fisherman’s warehouse,” she explains in her
soft spoken and warm manner. “What makes this location so interesting
is that my father is a retired ship’s captain. When I was a
child, he always used to take me here, to the harbor, to look at the
ships. In a way, I was raised on the docks! I feel like I’m home. In
this old and raw and beautiful space, I have created a little piece of
gold,” she smiles.
On this cold and windy afternoon, she is wearing a black woolen
coat and a black voluminous scarf wrapped many times around her
neck. Undoubtedly, this is her own design; her striking, yet timeless
garments are instantly recognizable. It is all in the impeccable tailoring,
the top quality fabrics and the clever details. When it comes to
Icelandic designers, she is in a league of her own.
A testimony to her iconic status, she has been awarded several
prestigious international prizes. In November 2011, the Icelandic
Fashion Council presented her with the first annual Indriði Award,
named after and inspired by the late Indriði Guðmundsson, an Icelandic
tailor who emphasized quality and professionalism. “Receiving
the award was a very emotional experience. First and foremost
it was because of the loss of Indriði. We worked together and knew
each other well. Of course I was also deeply honored by the fact
that my peers at the Council chose me. It is a great inspiration as
well as a great source of encouragement in proceeding on the
same path.”
Born in Reykjavík in 1960, Steinunn studied art at the Reykjavík
Art School before heading to New York City where she studied at
the world-renowned Parson’s School of Design. In 1986, she graduated
with honors and a BFA degree in fashion design, the first
22 I&I
Icelander to graduate from the school. Ever since, she has enjoyed
a highly successful career. Having begun by working freelance for
many well-known designers, she soon became head designer at
world renowned fashion houses Gucci, Calvin Klein and La Perla,
specializing in knitwear.
In the year 2000, she moved back to Iceland and founded her
own brand, naming it STEiNUNN. “Once you’ve worked for large
international fashion houses, you’re done with that. Then you start
asking yourself what is the next challenge. I decided that it was me.
Being my own boss is completely different than working for others,”
she says. “Designing for your own brand is a lifelong project;
a question of finding the courage to try new things—the courage to
begin. It might take you a while to find your essence; your signature
style. But once you do, you develop that style inside a frame; you
never stop. It is a lifelong passion.”
In her designs, Steinunn draws inspiration from Iceland’s cultural
heritage, especially strong women and the way they wore their
clothes. But her greatest source of inspiration is Icelandic landscape.
With her ruffled silks, sheer chiffons and fine or coarse knits
– often in tones reflecting nature’s own palette – she subtly pays
tribute to her native island’s capricious shapes and forms.
“All it takes is to look at all the elements of Icelandic nature. Not
only do we have snow. We have snow, sleet, frozen snow, windbeaten
snow, icebergs, ice in water, fresh fallen snow that looks
like feathers; you see the visual descriptions here. This variety is
exactly what I’m trying to achieve with my clothing. Nowhere in the
world do you get such a close encounter with the forces of nature.
I turn off the lights in my living room and get a dazzling display of
Northern Lights. I live by the ocean where the stormy weather is
sometimes very impressive. You only need to drive for an hour and
a half and you have reached Sólheimajökull Glacier. Not to mention
the frequent volcanic eruptions. In New York, you do not get that.
This is what makes Iceland so unique. And we tend to take all these
wonders of nature for granted. When you come home, decades
later, you learn to appreciate your surroundings all over again.”
By Ásta Andrésdóttir
photo by Geir Ólafsson